VERSAILLES, France--The U.S. Dressage Team suffered a stunning setback when the team's first competitor, Marcus Orlob on Jane, was eliminated when one of the judges noticed a spot of blood on Jane's hind fetlock.
Marcus Orlob on Jane (Photo by Allen MacMillan)That means the team is eliminated and will be unable to compete in Saturday’s FEI Grand Prix Special, which will determine team medals as in the Olympics countryies can only field a three-man team, thus no drop score.
Adrienne Lyle and Helix, as well as Steffen Peters and Suppenkasper will now compete as individuals and hope to qualify for the FEI Grand Prix Freestyle on Sunday.
Denmark’s Nanna Skodborg Merrald on Zepterhad the best score on the opening day of Dressage, and the Danish team, holders of the World Championship title, now look set to present a mighty challenge to the rest of the field.
The Grand Prix is a qualifier for both the Team Final which takes place on Saturday, Aug. 3 and the Individual Final on Sunday, Aug.4.
The best two horse and athlete combinations from each of the three groups of 10 competing both today and tomorrow will qualify for Sunday’s Grand Prix Freestyle along with the next six highest scorers, while the top 10 teams will qualify for Saturday’s Grand Prix Special which will decide the team medals.
SKODBORG MERRAID on Zepter scored 78.028% that was never bettered.
Nanna Skodborg Merraid on Zepter (Photo by Allen McMillan)“I think I had a really good solid test without big mistakes but also plenty of room for improvement," said Skoldborg Merraid. "I think in my changes I couldn’t have done a lot better, but in piaffe-passage and the pirouettes there's still room for asking for more.”
The strength of the Danes became more evident when Daniel Bachmann Andersen on Vayron scored 76.910% as the best of his group.
“Adrienne did a fantastic job riding Helix," said Chef d’Equipe Christine Traurig. "Again, he was on when he entered the arena, and we were thinking, ‘Whoa, definitely plenty of energy there,’ and she handled it masterfully. They had a very good score considering this combination is only together for a very short time and did not start the CDIs until earlier this year. It shows you what potential the horse has and what potential Adrienne has as a rider,”
Of the elimination of Orlob and Jane, she continued, “This was very unfortunate because in fact the beginning of the test was beautiful for a horse that is just 10 years old and has done this at this level for a very short time, only since February. Jane is amazing. That was very unfortunate because up until that point, they were running around a 73%, and it would’ve gone up higher with the canter work and the last centerline.”
In their Olympic debut, Marcus Orlob and Jane appeared to be settling fantastically into their test after cantering down the centerline, trending at around a 74% before the bell was rung by the judge at C.
Unfortunately, as Jane, a 2014 Dutch Warmblood mare by Desperado out of Zandra owned by Alice Tarjan, entered the arena, she spooked at the crowd, stepping on herself in the process, and nicking her hind right fetlock.
The judges saw the trace amount of blood and were forced to eliminate the combination due to the FEI Blood Rules for Dressage.
The official statement from US Equestrian is included below.
Unfortunately, Marcus Orlob and Jane were eliminated today during the FEI Grand Prix when a small nick on Jane's hind fetlock started to bleed during the test. Due to the FEI Blood Rules for Dressage, the pair were eliminated. We believe Jane accidentally stepped on herself going into the arena, which caused the minor cut. She is currently back in stabling, relaxing in her stall, and the cut is no longer bleeding.
“I was happy, excited to go down centerline; clearly Jane was too,” Orlob said. “It was a little bit of a, I would say, explosive entry. I believe she may have nicked herself in the entry, because I never have had this issue. She felt in the ring amazing. I was super happy with her. Once she went down centerline, she settled nicely. Once I got going, she felt more and more relaxed. I was really happy. I said, ‘OK, I got this now.’ And then I was, like, really, really sad to hear the bell, because I knew something’s not right.”
Adrienne Lyle on Helix was the remaining U.S. combination drawn to compete on day one of the FEI Grand Prix and produced a lovely test, which earned them a 72.593%.
The duo produced excellent canter work and showed their highlight of collected work with the several movements of piaffe and passage required in the test.
Lyle was thrilled with the performance, as Helix, a 2012 Dutch Warmblood gelding by Apacheout of Zeester T owned by Zen Elite Equestrian Center, has never experienced an atmosphere as large and loud as the main arena at the venue Versailles.
“I am thrilled with my horse out there," said Lyle. "He was really excited at first and the fact that he settled down and trusted me means everything. I think our Grand Prix score is right about dead on with what our average was in qualifying, and that was really my goal. You know, of course, I know there’s a lot more in there. He’s a very talented horse, but when you add the element of this environment and the excitement and stuff, I thought that if we could just reproduce what we’ve been doing in the qualifying competition, that would be great, and he went out there and he put an error-free test in. I was really, really happy with him.
Steffen Peters on Suppenkasper will be the final competitor for the Team USA,going at 9:01 a.m. ET tomorrow, Wednesday July 21, going later in the final group of riders.
Peters is contesting his sixth Olympic Games and second with Suppenkasper, a 2008 KWPN gelding by Spielberg out of Upanoeska owned by Akiko Yamazaki & Four Winds Farm.
Peters and Lyle will wait to see if their scores will qualify them for the FEI Grand Prix Freestyle which will begin on Sunday, Aug. 4, at 4:00 a.m. E.T.
